Burnt-out cars left to rot at Mount Leinster

THE picturesque area of the Nine Stones was turned into something resembling Beirut after three cars were destroyed and dumped there on New Year’s Eve.

Two of the vehicles were burnt out, while the third appears to have been crashed around 20 metres off the road at the Nine Stones at the foot of Mt Leinster.

“It’s barbarous, the worst I have seen up there,” said Myshall councillor Charlie Murphy.

Making matters worse was the fact that the area was inundated with visitors on New Year’s Day.

“There must have been 50 cars on New Year’s Day … tourists. There were a lot of Dublin, Wexford cars and, of course, cars from Carlow. You’d be surprised at the number of people who come up here after Christmas to walk it off. It’s one of the busiest times of the year to be honest and this is what they are met with. It’s like Beirut up there to be honest.”

Boy-racing has been a feature in the area, while there has also been dumping.

Cllr Murphy said something needs to be done, as there are plans to develop tourism in the area, including a Columbanus Trail starting from the Nine Stones and finishing in Bangor, Co Down.

“There won’t be much of a start from the Nine Stones from what I saw yesterday (Monday). It’s bad,” he said. “It needs to be highlighted. I think the authorities need more of a presence up there. It’s going to have to be tackled … there are a lot of plans up there in the future and burnt-out cars shouldn’t be one of them.”

Gardaí are understood to be investigating the matter while the cars were removed from the Nine Stones yesterday (Tuesday).